LUNAR INTERLUDE 2: Video

[journalkeeper]

[ She's been thinking about this since the whole memory storm went down, and now she feels the need to actually say something. Finish the thought that she'd been interrupted making the last time she made a post.

Lucretia is in the dressing room of the TV show she is a judge on (Red White And Belt It, a talent based reality show a la American Idol some who are into that kind of thing may recognize her from). She looks and dresses like she has authority, and her voice has a certain air of gravitas to it when she speaks. ]

Every month we are here seems to bring new disasters, new conflicts, new... problems. While we as imPorts cannot be held accountable for all of them, it is, uh, disquieting how often we are involved or worse yet, the cause.

I'm not... I'm not trying to deny the good we've done. I'm not denying that this is not a situation we asked for, nor one that takes a lot from us. Gods know the mantle of celebrity can be a burden at times. But...

[ She sighs and holds out her palm and the magical image of a city appears in miniature hovering above it. ]

In the world I come from, magic is everywhere. A trick like this doesn't even use up spell slot. It's common, everyday, it's... ordinary, in its way. But here... here it is a power, and aside from that fraction of Natives who have powers, we imPorts are the only ones who are able to wield powerful magics and fearsome abilities.

In other words, we're fucking OP.

But these powers, even with our best of intentions can make things go so, so wrong.

[ She twiddles her fingers and the vision of the city changes - right in the center of the city is a crater, where all the buildings were flattened and all that remains is what looks like shiny black glass. Only the outskirts remain. ]

I have seen the destruction caused when something is too powerful for a world to contain. Often that destruction wasn't intended by the one that caused it, but those lives? Those lives were still lost. Thousands of people dead in a heartbeat.

[ She closes her palm. She sounds tired. ]

We need to do more than try to stay out of trouble. We need to be more careful, we need to be more aware of our surroundings and we need to take responsibility for what we are capable of.

Before we fuck this all up for everyone real bad.

Comments

video;

[picksthenames]

[ Cisco is sitting on his hands trying not to mention that that's part of why he joined the Justice League... He knows Batman will see and yell at him once again for stepping out of line but--

She's right, she's so right. ]

The Earth I'm from, there was... An incident, about three years ago. It released this dark matter energy into my city, and the people who were hit with it, developed powers a lot like the ones the Porter gives us. I'm not exaggerating when I say that 90% of those people affected by the dark matter end up using their powers for crime. Iron Heights prison has a whole wing for metahuman criminals now.

[ He takes a deep breath. Giving background and perspective is one thing, but he needs to figure out where he's going with this. ]

What I'm saying is, we as ImPorts have the potential to do horrible, terrible things. And some do. But we also have the potential to use our Powers, whether we had them before we came here or not, to help stop the people who do terrible things. I agree that we need to watch ourselves, because I've seen worlds that were destroyed by metahumans. ...It's not pretty.

permavid

[journalkeeper]

I'm... I'm sorry to hear about that. Both the chaos caused on your world and -- did you say worlds, plural? [ She raises her eyebrows when she says that. ]

But you do raise a good point. I was speaking of the most optimistic interpretation, one that assumes better intentions. But not all of us are... well, some are more selfish than others. And we are the only ones powerful enough to keep our own community in check.

and then Chris has to retcon bc she forgot Cisco's canonpoint

[picksthenames]

Well, one world-- mainly. Terrorized by an evil metahuman who was bent on spreading his reign of terror to other Earths.

What are you suggesting, then? Some kind of policing organization?

[journalkeeper]

As much as dangerous people need to be watched out for, sometimes the issue isn't so clearcut. It's not always someone bad doing bad things, it can be someone not knowing how to control their powers, it can be different powers combining to create a cocktail of seriously nasty shit.

[ Which is something she knows all too well after this month. ]

Policing is... part of it. Certainly if someone like who you're describing arrives here than the need for shutting them down is plain. But I think I'm considering something more... holistic. A more balanced approach.

text

[h2no]

asking people to have some god damn common sense is too much

also how do you suggest dealing with the ones who refuse to comply? power control is a slippery slope.

text

[journalkeeper]

So it seems, but often it appears we need the reminder.

It's a difficult question with no easy answers. It depends on who is causing problems and why. For accidental issues, teaching and providing counterbalances is one thing. But for those who are willfully creating issues, something needs to be done.

Re: text

[h2no]

i've seen a lot of people who arrive assuming stuff will work here the same way at home, for better or worse
that faq explaining stuff will only go so far
and i have no doubt is ignored by people intent on causing trouble

[journalkeeper]

That is a good point as well. Certainly my powers were not the same as they were in my world. It took some adjustment.

We can't prevent people from being malicious, but perhaps we can get to them. It's one thing to ignore a pamphlet, it's quite another to ignore those that insist that their behaviour won't be tolerated. We need to keep ourselves in check.

We're the only ones who can, frankly.

[ Video ]

[ghoulking]

It's much easier to remember the bad things than the good, but while we can be very destructive, we aren't just destructive. We have done a lot, and we have helped.

The problem is, when we do something wrong, we hurt a lot of people. At the same time, we are also the ones who end up fixing it.

permavid

[journalkeeper]

To build, even to rebuild is always much harder and slower than to destroy, unfortunately. Like I said, Ken, I don't want to... it's not my desire to disregard the efforts we have made. But we need to stay on our guard. It's all too easy to slip up and that'll be the ballgame.

permavid

[ghoulking]

We are always on our guard. But we are a very heterogeneous group. For the past four years, slips up constantly happen no matter what.

video;

[the_caped_crusader]

I've said it before, but power isn't anything more than a loaded gun in the hands of the disenfranchised. More often than not, it's the 'have-nots' who use it to take what they feel they've been denied.

And while there are exceptions to the rule, as long as there's a systemic oppression that precludes a solution, these conversations will continue to come up. Power is just a symptom of a greater root cause.

[journalkeeper]

I don't necessarily disagree with you, Bruce, but what would you suggest? How do we tackle the systematic oppression, and what exactly do think that is? Who exactly in this situation is a have-not?

[the_caped_crusader]

I certainly can't speak for all worlds, but the idea that the people we fight are Machiavellian in nature is apocryphal. If we explain crime as a result of behavioral choice disguises the ways it's caused by capitalism. The irony of my success as a capitalist isn't lost on me, trust me. But out of deprivation comes violence-- not because people have bad attitudes or cultural deficiencies, but because without a safety net, the machinations required for survival can involve illegal business.

The disparity between those in power and those without it will always end up with the marginalized pushing back, whether we're talking socioeconomically or about literal power. Combined with the fact that poor economic conditions statistically raise the percentage of crimes as the need for relief rises, the goal is to fix the community at the foundation instead of pointing fingers at the effect instead of the cause.

video;

[kanyounot]

I wish there was a better system in place, for training those new to their abilities.

[ Kanan sits back, scratching his beard thoughtfully. ]

In my world that's what the Jedi Order was for, or used to be. Children born with abilities were brought in, and trained. We were taught control, and how to channel our abilities productively.

We were also taught about the responsibility that comes with those abilities. Not to use them for destructive purposes. The two things really go hand-in-hand. Here, it seems as if ImPorts, even ones who have brand-new abilities, things that could be very dangerous, are just... left to their own devices. It is a dangerous situation.

permavid

[journalkeeper]

That is an excellent point. I'm sure there's some small measures, but I wonder if something could be done to better make sure people who arrive here are taught - not just about what they can but... but about what they shouldn't do.

[kanyounot]

Anything we set up would have to be on a volunteer basis, unless we could get the government to cooperate somehow.

[ And he's not sure if he trusts the government here yet. ]

My suggestion would be some kind of... pairing system. Match a newly arrived Import with someone who has similar abilities and more experience with them. A teacher and an apprentice.

Video

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

[Jacob looks tired in the video. That's because he is.]

I hear what you're saying. Take it from someone who knows: trying to police this shit is like trying to mop up a river. You can fill all the buckets you want, but it all just keeps on flowing.

permavid

[journalkeeper]

I'm sorry to hear that. I'd be interested in hearing about your experiences -- if only to better understand the situation. I'm afraid I'm... I'm still rather new to this, compared to many others.

Video

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

Sure thing. I'll be happy to fill you in. Not sure where to start, though. There anything in particular you want to know about?

[am_i_a_monster]

Not all of our powers are destructive or powerful or fearsome.

[journalkeeper]

No. I suppose it would be unfair to paint all imports with the same brush. But every import doesn't need to have destructive powers for the few who do to create an impact.

shows up three years late with a fifteen shot espresso?? video

[functusofficio]

You make good points, certainly. It seems some of us certainly have the capacity to wreak great havoc on others, and not everyone has been given much opportunity or chance to learn how to control those abilities.

You saw that happen in your home world?

AN EVEN LATER TAG BACK

[journalkeeper]

I saw that happen on my homeworld far, far too many times.

[ She sounds tired. She looks tired. Tired and a bit sad. ]

The... cause of the destruction was power embued in objects that could be wielded, not within people themselves. In that case, the answer lay in destroying those magical items and thus prevent those tragedies.

But that solution is obviously not one-size-fits-all. Here the power lies within people themselves, and like you said, many who haven't yet learnt how to control their abilities.

TWENTY SHOT ESPRESSO

[functusofficio]

But you weren't always able to.

[ She can make that assumption fairly easily, based on the first sentence, but that doesn't make it any easier. ]

I'm sorry. That sounds very difficult.

And we cannot simple destroy people, of course.

May I ask how long you have been here?